# Is "Love Among the Ruins" by Evelyn Waugh a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Love Among the Ruins by Evelyn Waugh (Chapman & Hall, 1953) is identified by: First edition is a signed limited issue of 350 numbered copies (300 for sale, 50 reserved for the author), signed by Waugh, in gilt-stamped red cloth over beveled boards with top edge gilt and untrimmed edges, with decorations partly by the author. UK Chapman & Hall is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition is a signed limited issue of 350 numbered copies (300 for sale, 50 reserved for the author), signed by Waugh, in gilt-stamped red cloth over beveled boards with top edge gilt and untrimmed edges, with decorations partly by the author
- Dystopian satirical novella
- 49 to 51 pages
- Publisher imprint reads Chapman & Hall
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Evelyn Waugh |
| Publisher | Chapman & Hall |
| Year | 1953 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition is a signed limited issue of 350 numbered copies (300 for sale, 50 reserved for the author), signed by Waugh, in gilt-stamped… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition is a signed limited issue of 350 numbered copies (300 for sale, 50 reserved for the author), signed by Waugh, in gilt-stamped red cloth over beveled boards with top edge gilt and untrimmed edges, with decorations partly by the author. Dystopian satirical novella; 49 to 51 pages.

## Is this the true first?
UK Chapman & Hall is the true first. The genuine first is the numbered, signed limitation of 350 copies; a later 1953 trade printing without the limitation followed.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
First edition issued only as the 350-copy signed limitation; a later unlimited printing exists.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Love Among the Ruins* by Evelyn Waugh a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/love-among-the-ruins
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.